The Cost of Being the Best: Chapter 2
by Wolf of the Crescent Moon
Summary: Cho returns to save Kenshin and Yahiko from exhaustion. The reuinion is short lived though and has a grim ending. Find out exactly what I mean in this new exciting chapter. You won't wanna miss it!


The Cost of Being the Best

Chapter 2: No time for Hello, but I hope you survive till the end.

Yahiko had recovered as they moved across the bay and immediately the wall of forests rose up to cliffs at least 1/4 a mile high. They were solid rock making this beach impossible to reach from above. "Ship is the only option here...no one could scale that wall." Kenshin said. Yahiko walked along with his sword sheathed thinking about not the future, but the next battle. "Curse or not I'm going to find her..." Yahiko thought. He thought back to the night before everything started. It was about 5 in the morning and Yahiko's instinct told him. It was time. He got her out of bed that night and took her down to the hill. It was one the place he was calm and the dew was just laid upon the grass like sugar on fresh baked dough. She looked a little shocked; however, she was patient and knew Yahiko had a purpose for getting her up this early. She smelled a sweet scent of bread and then she saw it. It was a checkered blanket and on it a silver platter was set out. A steaming loaf of bread freshly baked was there. With it were fixings for various things butter, jam, sugar, etc. She was shocked but sat down as Yahiko asked her to. The sun started to rise just as she sat and all the dew started to glow! It was like thousands of tiny little lanterns had lit up. It was beautiful as Yahiko handed her a plate; however, instead of a piece of bread there was a...ring! She understood at once and she blushed as Yahiko smiled. "Yes..." was all she could mutter and Yahiko kissed her. They preparations to move in together and went to bed separate that night...

Yahiko came back to the present when Kenshin pointed out the cliffs were now more than 1/2 a mile high. At once Ki was felt and Yahiko and Kenshin's eye's were focused on the figure ahead cloaked in black. It wore a very thick cloak and you couldn't see its body build at all. It wore a black mesh thing over its face like a woman would at a funeral. The voice that spoke was very high and almost shrill. "Greetings, I'm am your next challenge you must pass by to get your bodies back." it said. Yahiko noticed at once that you couldn't see anything but cloak, and it wasn't moving at all. Kenshin saw it out of the corner of his eye at once. If it wasn't for a brief reflection of sunlight his neck would have been cut. He ducked just in time to see a chain scythe come down next to him. Yahiko did the same but wasn't fast enough and caught a small cut on his right leg. He didn't feel it but it still bled all the same. "The ultimate defense won't save you from this. In fact, you might as well not have any defense at all!" The voice said high and shrill and laughed. Kenshin and Yahiko were running in every which direction dodging by an inch every time. Finally Yahiko drew his sword to attack the figure, which hadn't moved at all yet, but a chain scythe cut his attack off. Yahiko ducked back just in time to avoid it. "Kenshin I can't get close!" Yahiko shouted running away further from the figure now. Kenshin himself using his God like speed couldn't even get within five feet of the figure! "What is the secret? Why doesn't this figure even move?" Kenshin said parrying a scythe. Now the scythes were even faster and Yahiko was starting to get cut. Only the god like speed could keep from getting cut ,and Kenshin knew the situation was grim. "I'm tiring and slowing down, this plan is so simple but its working." Kenshin thought.

A figure ran past Kenshin at such amazing speed that rivaled his! It ran for the cloak. The figure had blonde hair sticking straight up and he was wearing a blood red coat with a sword drawn. He was stopped 6 feet from the cloak. "Dangit!" he yelled with a familiar hickish accent. It was Cho the sword hunter! The scythe attacks stopped at once as if the user was confused by the arrival of one more. The voice didn't say anything the attacks just came again. Kenshin and Yahiko were running again, left, right, left, right, up, now back! Finally Cho spoke again, in between dodges "The figure doesn't move, he hasn't talked recently since we got close, there is only one solution, and there is only one way to solve this!" Cho said drawing a familiar sight. It was his sword then bent and went where he moved it. He swung and it unravelled going for the figure. Yahiko gasped as it dodged left and right through every single thing the scythes did to stop it! Finally it got within a foot of the figure and cut what appeared to be the head, right off! The attacks stopped instantly and Kenshin walked up to the cloak. Inside was a brass pipe that went underground! "Oh no...underground and they were launching hundreds of pre placed chain scythes hidden just under the sand with gunpowder. The explosion made the scythes launch blindingly fast. There is probably a small chamber where the scythe master had sealed himself in for days waiting for the target above to wander in. The master uses the vibrations from the feet above to know when and where to launch the next scythes." Kenshin said.

Cho looked ghostly white as he realized they were screwed. Yahiko took off running for the cliff in a last ditch effort to escape. Kenshin took off after him and Cho right behind Kenshin. Yahiko had been closest to the cliff and ran up catching a tree branch. He held on for dear life as it happened. The explosion went off at once as the thousands of barrels of gundpowder went off from 30 feet under where Kenshin and Cho stood. Cho was to late and the explosion blew him into the air literally blowing the skin off his back. The explosion was so large that it tore his skin from his skeleton. Kenshin was mere feet from the cliff when he felt the effects. He leapt but chains with sharp edges carved into them wrapped around him. They pulled him down with such force. He landed on the ground and they slowly contracted...It started to come in on him and it cut him badly. The chains retracted to a point where Kenshin was wrapped without any breathing room and Yahiko cried as he tried to get down to help him but a final shockwave slammed him into the cliff wall and he fell down unconsious. Kenshin screamed in pain as the chains finally pulled into his skin and down to the bone itself and with a sickening crack his skeleton gave away and was cut into several pieces.

Things just aren't looking good. Cho and Kenshin are both dead and Yahiko's physical state is undetermined. Maybe a bit of good news in the next chapter? Chapter 3: A flash of white hair! The last second savior... comming soon!


End file.
